To sleep, perchance to Dream
by bufffycat
Summary: By day one thing, by night another and sleep allows the temporary escape of this bitter word to another. But are they escaping reality, or escaping to it? And is it better to be in a warring kingdom rather than this harsh reality? Cardverse AU GerIta, Spamano, USUK


**Alfred F. Jones**

Alfred pulled his bag closer to himself as he hurried along the darkened street. It was his own fault that he had stayed so long in the library that the woman at the front desk had pushed him out with his things at closing. Now he only had the yellowed street lamps to guide his way through the dark as he walked back towards his room on campus. In his own defense, he needed to keep his grades high enough so that he could stay in school, otherwise there was no way he would be able to afford the tuition or living expenses that accompanied his studies. He got by well enough with what he was given, but he couldn't lose the scholarship and it was his only chance to get a decent job. Though it probably didn't help that he had fallen asleep for a portion of his studying time.

It was getting late and he arrived at the edge of the local park and hesitated trying to decide what his next move should be. It would be easier to cut across the darkened park, and he would arrive home sooner, but it was probably safer to take the longer route that rounded it, keeping out in the open and with more lights for security. He tugged on the sleeve of his sports jacket and groaned when the watch on his wrist proudly displayed the time at being after midnight. If he wanted to be in bed so he could rise for his morning classes, he was going to have to risk walking through the park.

As he set off down the path, Alfred's steps seemed much too loud with the lack of human presence that usually filled this particular space. His mind began to drift, and he was suddenly over come with the notion that this looked exactly like the start of a monster movie. Here he was, a young, decently attractive young man, alone at night and soon the sound of heavy breathing and the animalistic snarl of large predatory beast would accompany the sound of his sneakers hitting the pavement. He could feel his heart begin to beat rapidly inside his chest as he mind envisioned feral eyes lurking from between all of the bushes. _Calm down_, he tried to reason with himself and breathe much more slowly, _it's all in your mind. Just get a hold of yourself_-

A sudden snap of a limb made him jump, and Alfred could hear the sound of his blood pounding inside his own ears. He spun quickly to the source and instantly spied the dark evil grins that made him wish that it was a werewolf behind him instead. The three large men that were slowly advancing on him were much worse than zombies, ghosts, or aliens. Alfred began to inch backwards and when the leader of the small group noticed this, his face twisted into a sickening smile. "Where do you think you're going, Jones?"

"Home." Alfred replied, still backing away in minuscule amounts. The two cronies snickered from behind their leader, their eyes drinking in the sight of the blonde in front of them.

"Without paying us first?" The leader grinned, showing rows of white teeth. "You still owe us money for attending this school."

"I-I don't owe you anything!" Alfred argued, trying to hide the slight waver to his voice and failing miserably. He knew he shouldn't argue back as it only ever made things worse, be he couldn't give them anything more, not if he planned on eating this week. His sudden decision to stand up for himself seemed to spurn the men on more.

"Oh? I think you do. Now, behave yourself for once and give us what you have and maybe we'll go easy on you." The number of times Alfred had heard that had given him the foresight that this was not a time that he would come out without bruises or scrapes. At least from the looks of it, they were not brandishing weapons which meant they would only be using their fists. That is, unless he could get away.

Without a second thought, he spun on his heel and fled down the path, forcing his legs to carry him as fast as they were able, especially when the sounds of the group giving chase seemed to draw closer. Adrenaline was fueling him and he pushed forward even though he could hear that he was quickly losing ground. If only he could reach the other side of the park, if he could find someone to help him…

A hand roughly managed to take hold of his jacket and Alfred struggled as he was pulled sharply backwards into the awaiting clutches of the panting group. He opened his mouth to cry out, but was quickly silenced as the wind was knocked out him by a sharp blow to his gut. He coughed and wheezed, unable to stop them from searching his pockets and pulling his backpack away. The leader overturned the shabby bag, letting the contents spill out on the ground and frowning as only paper fluttered out of it. His hand seized Alfred's chin roughly and pulled it upwards so that he could fully see the wincing blonde's face. "You are only making this harder for yourself. Just give it up. You don't belong here. It would be better if you just crawled back into the hole you came out of."

Alfred glared in return, angry at the treatment that had become rather routine, but holding his tongue all the same. They had probably been waiting for him and followed him from the library, waiting for him to be in complete seclusion. They obviously needed a better hobby.

The leader frowned at the lack of response and punched him a second time, his friends releasing him so that his knees hit the pavement and he slumped over among his scattered belongings. They easily walked off, and Alfred could barely see them as he blinked furiously against the sudden misty cloud that seemed to overtaking his vision. He had every right to be here, maybe more so than them as he had earned his place through merit not through his family's status.

He couldn't stay there forever, lying on the hard ground holding his wounded stomach and wishing he was someone else. He didn't want his valuable notes to be lost or dirtied anymore than they already were and so, with as much inner will as he could muster, he picked himself up from the ground and began stuffing everything back into the bag where it belonged and noticing grimly that they had found the pocket change he had been keeping. It shouldn't be that bad, maybe he could convince someone to share a meal with him?

The rest of the journey home was uneventful, and he soon found himself within the safety of his small dorm room. He dropped his bag at the foot of his bed and collapsed in the chair at his desk to stare at the screen of the ancient computer that had been loaned to him to get him through his course work. His stomach throbbed painfully, and he didn't dare lift his shirt to inspect the damage. It would develop into a nice bruise that was easily hidden from sight of anyone; he didn't need to look at it to know that.

His eyes glanced at the clock in the corner, noting the time was now after 1, and cursed at the late hour. He should really be climbing into bed and sleeping off the entire horrible evening, but there was one thing Alfred wanted to accomplish first as he clicked the icon on the desktop and waited for the page to load on his screen. His email appeared, and among the usual spam was the email of who he decided was his closest friend. He'd never met this person, whoever they were, but they always responded diligently and without bias, something that he longed for among the real world that surrounded him.

It may have helped that he always lied to this person, speaking of his life in grand terms that didn't mirror the truth. He paused for a moment to consider what to write, what fairy-tale would he be living this week? How about how he was planning on going to the movies this weekend with a big group of friends and he was desperately hoping to sit close to that girl he had the biggest crush on. A sad smile graced his lips as he read over his words before hitting the send button. It was nice to pretend he had plans for the weekend, money to spend on frivolous pleasures, and friends who wanted to spend time with him. If only for a few minutes he could live as though they were real.

With that finished, he switched off the screen to his computer and turned off the light as he gingerly laid down in his bed, not even bothering to change. A few hours of rest and then he would begin another day with the same routine as before. And with those miserable thoughts, Alfred fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

The continual prodding to the top of his head was beginning to get annoying, and Alfred tried to swat away the offending annoyance.

"Stupid git, wake up!"

Alfred raised his head ever so slightly out of his arms to meet the furious green gaze that was mere inches from his own face. "Sleep on your own time! We're in the middle of an important discussion!"

His eyelids closed once again and he mumbled his reply into his sleeve. "But Arthur, if you weren't so boring…"

The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to keep himself from grinning when he heard the man become profoundly angrier and start spouting words Alfred was sure he was making up on the spot as there was no way they could be English. "As the King of this Kingdom you should at the very least be awake long enough to understand the situation so you can make informed judgments!"

"Fine, fine. You win today, Artie, but you could just offer ice cream." He replied, sitting up with a yawn and suddenly wincing.

Arthur frowned as he noticed the King's pained face. "What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sure it's nothing…" Alfred started, confused as to why his stomach was suddenly in so much pain.

From across the planning table, the Jack of the kingdom was eyeing him cautiously. "Perhaps it would be wise if you showed us what was wrong, aru?"

Arthur immediately agreed with Yao's proposal; turning his guardian mode to its highest level, he brought himself to full height to look down at Alfred. "He's right. Lift up your shirt then."

"No way!" Alfred argued, feeling angry that he was being treated like a child. He was an adult and ruler of a kingdom after all! "I probably just ate some of your cooking again."

"Lift up your shirt yourself, or I will do it for you." Arthur growled dangerously, his temper rising from the insult to his cooking in amongst his concern for the King's well being. Alfred stared a while longer before resigning himself that he would probably not win this simple argument. Knowing Arthur, he would most likely place a curse over him giving him full control of his body. There were a number of incidents when Alfred had witnessed Arthur's terrible magic and it was enough times to know that he never wanted to experience it firsthand.

Feeling frustrated, Alfred fisted his vest and shirt lifted them both high enough to reveal his pale stomach which, to the surprise of everyone in the room, was marred by a dark bruise that spread across abdomen. Yao leapt up from his chair to take a closer look, his brown eyes studying the color before looking up at the stunned face of Alfred. "How did this happen?"

Alfred wasn't sure how to answer. He honestly couldn't remember doing anything that was worthy enough to grant him this surprise and he so his mouth was unusually slack as he tried to think of an answer. Arthur recovered from his shock and glared like a frustrated parent. "You were probably out wrestling with the guards again, weren't you?" Alfred couldn't speak, and just turned his confused face to look at the Queen. "How many times have I told you not to do that? Just because you are stronger than any of them does not give you the right to go around challenging them all to fights!"

Yao rolled his eyes at the two, knowing this would lead to yet another argument and stepped away to call a servant to bring him his medicinal kit. Alfred blinked several times, his hand still frozen where it held his shirt. "What are you yelling at me for? I don't know where this came from!"

"How convenient for you!" Arthur leaned closer, scowling furiously. "But I'll know if you were down there again. Those sorts of stories do not stay quiet for long in this castle."

"Artie, don't be ridiculous!" Alfred argued, desperately trying to come up with a better reasoning for his state other than it must have occurred sometime earlier and he hadn't noticed. "We have all been too focused on everything in here for me to have time to spend on some of my favorite pastimes, let alone down in the guard's quarters!"

"I don't believe you!" Arthur yelled, just as the door swung open and a man with black-brown hair stepped through holding a large wooden chest covered in swirling blue and gold patterns. He stopped beside Yao and took in the strange scene before him, the King lifting his shirt and Queen standing very close and his perverted mind began to see all sorts of scenarios in the situation and began to snicker. Yao, frustrated from listening to the earlier fighting pulled the chest away and began to push the man with the gravity defying curl back out the door. "That's enough out of you, aru!" The snickering Asian disappeared and the door closed once again to leave the three of them alone.

Recognizing the strangely marked chest, Arthur stormed away, taking his place at the table and ignoring the furious gaze of the King in an aloof manner. Yao began to dig through his things, muttering to himself and pulling out various items. Alfred let his shirt slide down and watched with interest at what Yao was doing, until the man gathered several things and rounded the table to face him. He thrust a small lump of dough, about the size of a coin, at him with the order to eat. Alfred took the offered item without complaint; Yao's treatments never seemed to make sense to the normal physicians, but they always seemed to work. He winced as he bit into the bitter herb mixture hidden within the doughy shell, attempting to stifle his reflex to gag. If he could survive Arthur's cooking, he could survive this and most anything else.

Yao wasn't sympathetic to Alfred's plight, but pushed his refilled water-glass at him which he took gratefully to wash down the aftertaste that was residing his mouth. While he gulped down the water, Yao had pulled his shirt back up and was now spreading a cream across the surface of the bruise, though it was cold and Alfred couldn't stop the hiss that escaped as the fingers worked their way around the warm flesh. Yao looked up with a mixed expression of frustration and concern. "If you don't like it, aru, then you shouldn't have gone and caused it to happen."

Alfred face burned in frustration and embarrassment at being told off. "Why does everyone assume that I did something stupid?"

"Because it's likely that you did." Arthur countered from across the table as he shuffled around various papers he had stacked in orderly piles. Yao finished his treatment and returned to his place to pack up his things as Alfred rearranged his clothing to look presentable. "As I had been saying before you rudely interrupted, all of the reports we are receiving are that the Kingdom of Clubs is in danger of falling apart. Not everyone agrees with the King's rule and it is possible that there may be an uprising against the monarchy."

Alfred nodded as he took in the information and gazed at the written notes in front of him. He didn't particularly like the King of Clubs, and wouldn't be losing any sleep over thoughts of the King being removed. "What about the Kingdom of Hearts?"

"Their King is still quiet strong, and could pose a problem." Yao supplied, checking over a list of figures in front of him. "However, it is rumored that the Jack is the weakest link of their monarchy, and the King and Queen will bend to most anything concerning him."

Alfred scribbled a quick note down to remind himself should the situation arise again in the future. "And the Diamonds?"

The Queen laughed. "Please, the King of Diamonds is a weak, perverted, old frog." He sat back in his chair looking smug. "They don't stand a chance."

"But we should take care of the Jack, aru." Yao cautioned, glancing at Arthur before turning his attention back to Alfred. "He is the most fearsome of their monarchy."

"Ha! But the Spades are easily the most powerful of all the Kingdoms." Arthur returned, confidence radiating from him in abundance. "We easily out match all the others."

Alfred listened intently, glad that the effects Yao's mysterious treatment had already begun to heal him, as there was a cool tingling sensation across his torso to prove it. "Is there any other thoughts to be added?" He looked to the other two who both shook their heads. "And are there any objections?" Both seemed to ponder this for a moment before shaking their heads once again. "Fine, then if we are all in agreement," Alfred straightened his tie and smiled lightly at his court, "the the Kingdom of Spades will declare war on the outlying Kingdoms, effective immediately."

* * *

_AN: It's official: I was sucked into cardverse..._

_Haven't decided all of the pairings yet, so feel free to try and make my mind up for me._


End file.
